Feb 26, 2013 3:26 PM

Well, I tried to power up my console today and it will not turn on. Tried unpluging it for 30 minutes or so and nothing. It's not an update thing since I udated back in December. I have a disc in the drive and cannot get it out either. I have checked the forums here for a solution, to no avail. I also checked the ac adapter with a multimeter, which is showing 15v on the plug so it's not a "power brick" problem. Not looking forward to navigating Nintendo's 800. I'm thinking the blinking red light is the equivelent to microsoft's red ring of death. I'll post back with updates.

I called Nintendo support, and was instructed to ship my console and gamepad in for repairs. My console is boxed up and waiting for pick up (2/27/13) I will post back with the outcome and time it takes to receive my console back.

They had me send in the game pad because I opened a ticket with them in January due to game pad connection issues. I found that the connection issues only came up when i would turn the console on remotely from the game pad. If i used the power button on the console itself, there was no connection issues. Strike 2 for this console. My first experience with customer support was very poor. The 2 subsequent dealings have been great.

Just received my wii u back. They sent me a refurbished console and game pad, with no explanation of my original console's failure. All my data was lost. I am very dissapointed they didn't take the time to transfer my data to the "new" system.

I got that problem now but the game is stuck insidewould i get my game back if i send it to repair??

Yes, just make sure when you call Nintendo's 1-800-255-3700 (6 am ~ 7 pm Pacific, everyday) Customer Service number to set up the repair, that you also mention about the video game disc and they will add that information to the repair notes so it won't get accidentally missed by the repair technician.

I was having this issue this morning and called Nintendo support. The lady on the phone, who was very nice, ran me through some troubleshooting, which I had tried myself prior to phoning in, and none of it was successful. She began to suggest that it owl have to be shipped in for repairs when she asked if I was using the Nintendo HDMI cable, which I wasn't. I unplugged the random HDMI cable that was in use and attempted to turn the system on, sans HDMI. It turned on. The woman mentioned that the wii u requires a high speed cable and won't function without one. Funny that the system had been working with the cable before, not sure what prompted it to not work today. Anyway, if anyone does experience this issue, make sure you are only using Nintendo licensed peripherals as third party ones may cause problems.

Hi I have the same problem. My Wii U doesn't turn on and has the same blinking red issue, but I want answers. I tried the reset procedure, disconnect every accessory, test the HDMI cable, etc...So, I would like some NOA tech representative to answer: What causes this issue?

I really know that is not the AC adapter, because I used both my AC adapter and my friend's adapter (that is working properly) and the same issue happens, also I tested my accessories (HDD, SD card, HDMI cable, FAN) on my friend's Wii U too without issues. So, the problem resides on the console itseft. I don't want to send my console to Nintendo, because they will only return a refurbished console not mine, so I'll lost all my data (account ID, downloaded games, patches, etc) and this is due the data can't be transfered between Wii U to Wii U. Seriously Nintendo has to fix this issue in a way to not affect his customers (allowing the user to activate it or not), like offering a firmware update to allow the console not get bricked or disabling the internal circuit breaker, or a better reset procedure like disconnecting the AC adapter plug and press and hold the power button for 4 seconds and reconnect the AC adapter to reset the console (like some computers do) instead of wait for 90 seconds. Really is a tedious procedure to reset the system to normal operation, I have to do that every time I'll play my favorite games, this reduces my playing time and it lets the console gain dust in the corner. I have some tech knowledge, and I think it could be a bad capacitor or the internal fan that causes the issue and it has to be replaced.

As long as you send your system to Nintendo, you won't lose your Nintendo Network ID or the downloadable games you purchased (you may lose save data and/or have to redownload content, but you would not need to repurchase it.)

Well, if Nintendo returns to me the original repaired console instead a refurbished one I completely agree with you. About the Nintendo Network ID I have read some complaints where you can't transfer that between the original Wii U to the refurbished one,(at least if Nintendo has another way to transfer it) also if I connect my hard drive to the refurbished console it won't be recognized until I format it, meaning that I have to re-download all my eshop games witch is another tedious job specially if you have a slow internet connection.

Also, I think Nintendo could easily avoid this issue with a firmware update, because the system has a protection. When it detects some voltage or current variations it automatically bricks to avoid damage, but the system could easily support low variations without have to be damaged, so instead of an aid it causes this issue (this is not caused by connecting many peripherals as someone supposes, like the system doesn't have enough voltage or current to support them, it has standard power on all usb ports). I'm pointing to allow the users to have an option to enable or disable this protection even it means a risk for the console to get damaged. This solution avoids the gamers to have to send their Wii Us to Nintendo for a simple fix.

Another complaint is that some people that have received their refurbished Wii Us, after a short period of time the console gets the same issue again. Meaning a tedious cycle with people have been returned the Wii Us two or three times in a row.

Hi, I'll continue to my research on this issue. First, I bough a damaged Wii U on Ebay to swap components to my original Wii U and see what causes this issue. I already know that this causes my guarantee lost, but I decide to take the risk. The results, I changed the fan and nothing the issue continues, I changed the bluetooth cards and nothing the issue still happens. Finally, I decide to change the optical drive, and something rare happens the optical drive is recognized, but the Wii U doesn't read any game disc, probably due a protective code serial that Nintendo put in each optical drive that only allows the original drive to read the disc, so if your drive is damaged you have to repair it, you can't swap it to another drive. Well, after swap the optical drive I checked it and the issue still happens.

Other suggest a posible CPU overheating, but i discard that, because my room is well ventilated.

Only left my theory of a bad capacitor or resistance that causes this issue, but welding is very difficult due the components are small, that is why some technicians recomend to swap the entire Wii U motherboard than any component even the CPU/GPU processor. Well, I don't have another option than sell my Wii U at discount price and buy another on Gamestop. I'm really tire of this situation, is very frustrating have to reset the Wii U every time to turn-on and Nintendo still silent about this issue called the RED LIGHT BLINKING OF DEAD and do nothing. I telling you Nintendo, I'll buy another one, but if this fails again is GAME OVER, I won't buy another Wii U again, instead buy a PS4 and put an end to this situation.